Artwork of the Week: July 1
Julian Joseph (United States, 1882–1964), 'Night Street Scene', 1948, oil on canvas. Brigham Young University Museum of Art, gift of George R. Nicholson, 1976.
Rising above a crowd of well-dressed urbanites, Julian Joseph’s Night Street Scene offers a sweeping view of post-war Manhattan’s vibrant nightlife. Warm light spills onto the darkened pavement from busy storefront windows and echoes across a sea of smooth bodied cars, punctuating the nocturnal cityscape with a cacophony of brilliant colors. A blazing red billboard in the middle ground outshouts the commotion of the bustling sidewalk below, demanding attention.
The affluent throng strolls through a corridor of middle-class entertainment and spectacle, accentuating the economic prosperity and rising consumerism that swept the nation following World War II.
